


Those Who Live in Glass Towers (will learn to throw stones)

by a_case_for_wonder



Series: Glitch [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-26 19:18:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16687429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_case_for_wonder/pseuds/a_case_for_wonder
Summary: There is magic in this world, but it is not as it seems. Neil has truths to tell, Andrew has promised to keep. What else is new?





	Those Who Live in Glass Towers (will learn to throw stones)

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a product of the fact that I’m currently doing NaNoWriMo and I thought “sure, but what if this incredibly complex world you’ve built...was an aftg AU?”

The sunset spilled hot over the horizon of Madrail, Nebraska, reaching through the glass of the citadel tower and leaving little splashes of pink of the shoulders of Andrew’s leather jacket. Neil knew they were there even though he couldn’t see them, too consumed with the slow insistence of Andrew’s mouth on his, the cold fingertips gripped into the edge of his jaw as they sat tucked into the tiny balcony, tens of stories above the the City of Magic and Light. 

Andrew’s fingers dug in, holding onto the edge of the bone, his thumb tapping at Neil’s cheek, then let go. He pulled back, shifting awkwardly as he tried to adjust his legs - his cybernetic brace was a marvel of his own invention, but it was better for walking than sitting. Neil’s body chased his for one longing heartbeat, but stopped when he saw the expression on Andrew’s face. Uncertain. Tired. Worried? 

Andrew pulled out his cigarettes, passing two to Neil wordlessly. His eyes were calculating. Neil reached for the combination of Light magic and Kinetic magic he had only just mastered, flicking the ends into flame before passing Andrew’s back. He watched Andrew look anywhere but him, and he worried. 

He was afraid Andrew was going to tell him they were over, whatever it was they were. No more kisses high above the city. No more working his magic on the little machines Andrew built, and letting Andrew teach him about the mechanics in turn. No more evenings hiding from Kevin’s study regimen in the old basement generator room, Andrew perched on the motor casing of the ancient electric generator, his brace leaning off to the side while he let Neil dig his fingers into half-atrophied muscle, Neil telling him story after story. Neil didn’t want to lose any of that, but if what they had become was too much for Andrew, he was prepared to bear it. 

He was not prepared for Andrew to say quietly “I know, Neil. I know what your big secret is.” 

Neil reached for his magic instinctively, a fight response Andrew didn’t miss, although Neil didn’t actually use any. The sun was almost down. The last wicks of red were reflected in Andrew’s golden eyes. “Which one?” Neil managed, sounding strangled. Andrew’s face pinched. 

“The Secret, Neil. The big one. Not about your father, or your mother, or even the Moriyamas.” That didn’t leave much. Neil felt frozen with dread. “The one about the Church. About magic. The one about everything.” No. He couldn’t know. 

“You can’t tell anyone.” Neil whispered, glancing around wildly even though he knew they were alone. No one would come looking for them in the glass monstrosity that towered above the Citadel. “Andrew, promise me you won’t.” 

Andrew looked murderous. “Why wouldn’t I. Tell me why I shouldn’t bring this whole fucking place to its knees.” 

“You wouldn’t have a chance. They would kill you.” 

“They would not be the first to try.”

“Andrew,” Neil’s heart was in his throat. “We aren’t talking about a few local gangsters. We’re talking assassins that serve an international conspiracy. We’re talking about- about people like my father.” 

Andrew’s expression flickered, calculating. “Your father wasn’t even Gifted, he was a cleric,” he said. “Clerics are bookkeepers.” No doubt he was thinking of the cleric of their church back in Columbia, probably some dottering old man with hunched shoulders and frightened eyes. But Nathan Wesninski had worked directly for the Citadel, directly for the Moriyamas. 

“Clerics are peacekeepers,” Neil corrected, willing Andrew to understand the difference. From the looks of it, he did. 

“Does Kevin know?”

Neil took a slow breath. In. Out. “No.” Kevin didn’t have any particular love for the Church of Light, but he knew that magic was a gift bestowed by the almighty, and he worked hard to honor the gift he had been given. “They never told him. I don’t think they ever told Kaleigh. He’s a real believer.” 

“Fuck.” Yeah, that about said it. 

“How did you figure it out?” Neil needed to know. 

“The Riots.” Earlier in the year a series of turbulent protests over new religious laws had sent waves of rolling blackouts through campus. A couple of times activists had managed to shut down the main server room of the church, though only ever for a few minutes at a time. “Your magic kept glitching at the same time as my legs. I got suspicious, so I went looking.” 

Neil felt queasy. “Tell me you didn’t go digging around the servers. You’re going to get caught.” 

“I have almost full administrative access,” Andrew said with a shrug. “The Citadel gave it to me itself, when they hired me.

“Abram.” Andrew was up on his knees, leaning over Neil with intent. “It’s not real, Abram. Magic, the Church of Light, none of it. It’s a computer program.” 

It was a little more than that, of course. The Church was nanotechnology and violence and a very good PR team. A false prophet who had taken advantage of the dreams of a madman to take over the human race. 

“It’s real enough,” Neil said, tossing the butt of his cigarette over the railing and bursting it into flame, not bothering to watch the burning ashes fall. Andrew wrenched him in closer by the collar. “And isn’t magic sort of beautiful? It’s helped people, like Matt and Allison.” 

“And how many lives has its pseudo religion destroyed? Nicky’s?” His parents throwing him from their home. “Renee’s?” Her old prayers ripped from her mouth. “Kevin’s, Aaron’s?” Their fates caught up in a web of violence and lies they couldn’t comprehend. 

Andrew’s other hand came up to cup Neil’s face. His expression was furious, his touch fiercely restrained. “Yours, Abram?” But it was no use. 

“Who could we tell?” 

“Wymack.” 

That was enough to give Neil pause. 

“Maybe.” It would be the riskiest, stupidest thing Neil had ever done, and that was saying something. But making stupid choices had gotten him this far...Was it possible? Could the Church be exposed? Could it be shut down for good? 

“You gave me your back, Neil.” It was a challenge. A dare to make that promise a lie, too. 

Neil leaned up, bumping his forehead into Andrew’s and then just resting there. He closed his eyes. Below them, the lights of the Citadel and the city beyond it glittered in the dusk. Beyond that, the dark stretch of the Great Plains, calling him to just disappear again. But he’d said he was done running. 

“If Wymack and I can get you into the main server room, you can find the information you need? You can find proof?” 

Andrew leaned in and pushed the answer against Neil’s lips. “If the Church didn’t want their secrets being found out, they should not have given the keys to the kingdom to someone like me.” 

Neil’s heart raced. His hands tightened into fists. Just the thought of taking on the Church of Light, the organization that had helped make his father what he was, had made Neil’s life what it was, sent waves of dizziness through him. But Andrew was the most solid thing he had ever had at his back. If there was ever a time it could be done, if there were ever people who could do it, it was them. It was now. 

Neil ran a hand along the cold glass of the balcony railing. This monstrosity of a tower thats impossible geometry had haunted his dreams since childhood. Then he met Andrew’s eyes. 

“Let’s do it,” he whispered. “I want this stupid tower to be nothing but a pile of broken glass.” They were going to bring the whole damn thing to the ground.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m considering writing more in this universe (once my current WIPs are done...or at least actually in progress again...) so let me know what you think? I’d love to know if anyone would read more of this weird midwestern fantasy thing I’ve cooked up. Thanks for reading, comments and feedback are much appreciated!!


End file.
